WFES News You Choose, Thursday, October 31, 2024
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In this Week's Issue...- Important Upcoming Dates
- Letter from Principal Prindle
- Changes to Progress Reports
- Join us for this year's Thanksgiving Luncheon!
- Did you Know Attendance Ties to School Accreditation?
- School Rule Reminders
- Pilot: School Experience Survey
- 11/8 Honoring Our Veterans
- Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
- 2024-25 Reflections - Inspiration
- 📖 Virtual Lexia Parent Information Night
- Return Your Federal Impact Aid Survey
- Kiss-n-Ride Reminders
- Give Wakefield Forest a Follow!
- Contact Us
November 1: No School - Holiday - Diwali
November 4: No School - School Planning Day
November 5: No Student Holiday - Teacher Workday
November 8: Honoring Our Veterans 8:00 am
November 11: School Holiday - Veteran's Day
November 15: Reflections submissions due
Letter from Principal PrindleDear Wakefield Forest Families,
Today we wrapped up the first quarter of the 2024-25 school year. We are proud of the hard work of our students and staff. It's been very exciting for all of us to be back together inside our brand new building.
At the end of each quarter we Drop Everything and Dance our way out to celebrate all that we have learned and accomplished.
First Quarter Family Engagement Opportunities
- Back to School Night
- Principal Coffee - Safety & Security
- Principal Zoom Meeting - Safety & Security
- Principal Coffee - Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Principal Coffee - Literacy
- Military Family Event
- Community Equity Night
- Bookfair and Ice Cream Social
- Green Team Meetings
- Movie Night
- Fun Run
- Field Trips
We're grateful to our staff and volunteers who supported these many informative and fun activities.
Thank you.
Sharyn Prindle
Principal
Changes to Progress ReportsStarting in November 2024, your child’s progress report grades may look different due to the changes below.
- Before: the FCPS Planning and Pacing Guide covered different standards each quarter.
- Current: FCPS now uses Benchmark Advance. It covers all standards each quarter, building towards mastery. Fewer standards will be marked Not Taught (NT) or Not Assessed (NA)
Schools will still use the same 4-point scale to assign grades; please refer to the https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-reporting/elementary-school/elementary-grading-and-reporting-handbook-parents for more details.
Join us for this year's Thanksgiving Luncheon!Please let us know if you plan to join your student for the Thanksgiving Luncheon on 11/21 by completing the form linked below.
Thanksgiving Luncheon Sign Up Form
Due to size constraints we must limit it to 2 guest per family.
Did you Know Attendance Ties to School Accreditation?Did you know that chronic absenteeism impacts school accreditation?
Students who miss 18 days or more of school are considered chronically. Chronic absenteeism is one of the factors used to determine school accreditation.
School Rule Reminders- Birthday Policy - Families may send in a small non-edible item to the classroom to celebrate a birthday. Due to allergies we do not allow edible birthday items.
- Lunch Food - We ask that families refrain from bringing fast food or chain food to the cafeteria for lunch.
Wakefield Forest Elementary has been selected to participate in a pilot program for the FCPS Student Experience Survey. This survey will gather important feedback from students about their school experiences to help FCPS make meaningful improvements.
Some students in grades 3-6 will be selected to participate. However, all students in participating grades, except those who have opted out, will receive a link to the survey in their FCPS email. We will administer the survey in selected classes during the school day between Monday, December 2, and Friday, December 13. Any student may take the survey at home, if preferred.
We believe it's important to hear from our students about what we're doing well and where we can improve. This work also aligns with the five equity commitments in FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan, which focus on amplifying student voice and experiences as we work toward meeting plan goals.
11/8 Honoring Our VeteransWe would love to celebrate our WFES Veterans and their kiddos on Friday, November 8, 2024 at 8:00 AM in the cafeteria.
We would love to display photos of our WFES veteran's, please send in a photo for us to display with your child or children's name included.
There will be a special music presentation and some light refreshments.
We're grateful for our military families.
Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device ActivityFCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service.
Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites your child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours.
Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.
2024-25 Reflections - InspirationStudents in all grades are invited to participate in the 2024-2025 Reflections program. Students can submit artwork in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography or visual arts–all based on the theme of “Accepting Imperfections.” This competition offers an excellent opportunity for your kids to showcase their creativity in their favorite way. For more details and to submit your child’s artwork, please visit: https://forms.gle/cJTrogPHaXQ2PRsW9. Submissions are due by Friday, Nov. 15.
If you would have any questions, please reach out to Jessica Gardner at [email protected].
📖 Virtual Lexia Parent Information NightLearn more about Lexia® Core5 and Lexia® PowerUp at a parent information night. Discover how FCPS uses Lexia in classrooms to support students’ literacy growth. Presenters will also share tips for improving your child’s literacy. Sessions will take place:
- Tuesday, November 19, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, December 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Register in advance. For more information, contact Theresa Lieteau.
Return Your Federal Impact Aid SurveyFCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets (in the upper right corner after logging in). Please complete it as soon as possible.
For any families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE, schools will provide paper forms starting Wednesday, November 13. Paper forms should be returned by Wednesday, December 4.
Completing this form for each school-aged child in every household is important. Information from this survey resulted in more than $4 million in funding last year from the U.S. Department of Education. These funds are used to support all Fairfax County public schools and centers.
For more information, please watch this video on Impact Aid and visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
Need to Register for ParentVUE?
Learn how to activate your SIS ParentVUE account, so you can easily submit your survey.
Kiss-n-Ride RemindersArrival: Kiss and Ride begins at 8:25 am.
- Students should not be let out of your car until 8:25 am.
- All kiss and ride students will enter through door #1 and go directly to class.
- Please do not letting students out of the car until your car has reached the blue poles close to door #1. They should not be let out by any of the parked cars below the door #1 area.
Dismissal: Kiss-n-ride begins at 3:25 pm.
- Students will be dismissed from the overhang and lobby at door #1.
- An adult will escort Kindergarteners to their car.
Attendance: 703-503-2323 or [email protected]
Health Room: 703-503-2310
Family Information Phone Lines/Support for families who do not speak English as their first language: Family Information Phone Lines
Technology Support: Resources for Families Using FCPS Technology
Principal: Sharyn Prindle [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Amy Williams [email protected]
WFES PTA Homepage
4011 Iva Lane, Fairfax, VA 22032 | Main Office: 703.503.2300
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